This is just what we need:
The Mahoning county board of elections will meet Monday evening to decide whether or not approve additional signatures that would appear to be enough to place former Congressman Jim Traficant on the ballot.
Longtime Traficant supporter Linda Kovachik tells 21 News that there are now 27 more valid signatures. Mahoning County Board of Elections Director Tom McCabe and board member Mark Munroe confirmed that Traficant only needed 20 additional signatures and now it appears he has more than enough to have his name on the ballot.
Earlier on Friday, just over one dozen dedicated supporters of Jim Traficant rallied for “Justice for Jim” outside the Mahoning County Board of Elections.
The group is clearly determined to garner more support and make their case that they have more than enough valid signatures to get the ex-congressman’s name on the ballot as an independent for the 17th Congressional District.
At least he was always entertaining.
General Stuck
The good, but poor rustbelt folks of Akron want to fuck with us some more by sending a madman felon to Washington, again. Normally, I would object, but Mr. Mafioso Codpiece From Hell, will fit in quite nicely these days with all the other madmen.
Maude
@General Stuck:
At least we’d get to look at the hair.
beltane
Bah, Jim Trafficant is nothing but a poor man’s Rod Blagojovic. It doesn’t take much to get on the ballot there, I see. One wonders why every village doesn’t try to send their idiots to Congress.
Keith G
Duh,,,,Mix down times with a renegade populist rhetoric and people will turn off their minds and follow – as we saw this weekend.
The Commish
Why hold it against him that he was caught?
If those constituents want to re-elect him, there should be a very high bar to pass before he was barred from office.
some other guy
Dunno if anyone’s posted a link to this here or not yet, but this picture from this weekend’s Beck event is priceless.
The Commish
@some other guy: Yes. And….hmmmm let me think….
Yes.
Thanks for the link.
somethingblue
We gave up on the experiment of having a functional Congress a while back. All I ask now is that they be entertaining.
Bring him on.
Macsenmifune
@some other guy: Fanny pack, I thought those things finally were history?
Jim Pharo
How many signatures does his hair need?
some other guy
@Macsenmifune:
Somehow, in violation of all common sense, good taste, and personal dignity, they do exist. Black conservatives, that is. I still refuse to believe that people actually wear fanny packs, no matter how much photographic evidence there is to the contrary. Surely, no one could be THAT ridiculous.
MikeJ
@Macsenmifune: For those of y’all who wear fannie packs
mr. whipple
Beam me UP!
bemused
I wonder if he looks in the mirror every morning and says, damn, I look good.
Napoleon
I grew up in Mahoning County (hangs head in shame, at least for the Traficant part).
Macsenmifune
@MikeJ: :)
Sadly we can’t make fun of Jimmy’s hair any more he cut it off.
Link
I imagine it was truly sad moment with much weeping.
HST
My anus hurts.
Unintentionally Pregnant
I grew up in Trumbull County, Ohio. This continues to be a huge shame for me. I left years ago, now living safely across country, but it’s almost embarrassing to share with people where I’m from.
Apparently enough signatures were found to put Traficant on the ballot so he can proceed to get soundly defeated by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, in the November general election.
Unintentionally Pregnant
I grew up in Trumbull County, Ohio. This continues to be a huge shame for me. I left years ago, now living safely across country, but it’s almost embarrassing to share with people where I’m from.
Apparently enough signatures were found to put Traficant on the ballot so he can proceed to get soundly defeated by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, in the November general election.
LindaH
@General Stuck: Akron’s in SUMMIT County not MAHONING. Jeez, my Congressional rep is a nice, sane, liberal Democrat called Betty Sutton. Trafficant is not ours, honestly. He’s from Youngstown. Don’t blame little old Akron, we’re good guys, honest.
General Stuck
@LindaH:
a thousand pardons madame. I mixed Youngstown up with Akron, but the rest still applies, I think.
I can remember when Trafficant was first indicted and heard some guy from his district being interviewed in downtown Youngstown, (not Akron) about why they kept electing him, and the guy said look around at all the for sale signs and empty buildings, that Trafficant was their way of saying fuck you America. I paraphrased that, but it was what he was getting at in so many words.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Napoleon:
I lived in Warren, I feel your pain!
pjcamp
Gotta love that hair.
It’s taller than he is.
Kobie
It’s the hair. It’s gotta be the hair.
dj spellchecka
i think having criminal jim on the ballot will help split the fauxnews voters giving tim ryan a boost….
ps
hoping that after the next redistricting ryan will be my congressman…currenty stuck with latourette due to some serious gerrymandering from 2000